One Step Closer
by KCCasey
Summary: What if Thor and Loki were just humans like all the rest of us, trying to carve out a piece of normal life in a world of superheros? Jane Foster invites her coworker Tony Stark over for dinner on the same night Thor invites his brother totally unplanned, she'll assure you . Will the night end in chaos? Or something a little more fun? Mortal!AU. Frostiron Tony/Loki .


**Relevant information that you need to know: All of the other Avengers still have their powers and are still loosely connected together through SHIELD. Without Loki's world takeover attempt, however, Agent Coulson lives on and there was nothing to really bond the team together. Jane's research was still confiscated several years ago (she and Dr. Selvig knew too much), and she now works as a researcher for SHIELD. Tony has been assigned to New Mexico for a few months in order to assist her in a project.**

**Possible trigger warning for mention of rape and heavy drug use. Rated T for sexual situations and language.**

Tony pulled up to the house, grinning as Jane laughed at a joke he made. It wasn't often that he was invited to people's houses for dinner. Okay, that was a lie. But they usually weren't taken, and the focus of the evening was by far not the food. But he has offered to give her a ride home from headquarters in lieu of public transportation, and she had insisted that he stay for a dinner.

They walked inside, and Tony smiled at his surroundings. It was a rather cute house, two stories with lots of windows for natural light. Jane took her shoes off and turned her head towards the stairs. "Thor, we have a guest!"

A huge man came bounding down the stairs like an overeager puppy, his long blonde hair practically bouncing. "Jane, you're home," he cried. A slightly shorter and much less bulky man followed behind him. "And you brought Mr. Stark with you. Pleasure to meet you." He held out a large hand for Tony to shake.

Tony was a little taken aback by this giant of a man, but shook his hand anyway. "Call me Tony. Please."

Jane leaned into his side. "Tony, this is my boyfriend Thor." Thor threw an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. "And, though I had no idea he would be here, Thor's brother, Loki."

Loki, meanwhile, stared at Tony impassively. He was quite handsome, Loki had to admit. Overconfidence radiated from his every pore, but there was something about his smile to suggest that he wasn't quite used to social situations like this. Loki's mental-self snorted; of course Tony wasn't used to situations like this. If the gossip rags were to be believed, he was a goddamn billionaire who sat in his laboratory and only came out to have sex with women and occasionally save the world. Not a man who usually came to dinner parties.

"What, like the old Norse myths?" Loki was jolted back from his pensive thoughts to the present conversation.

Jane laughed. "It gets worse. Their last name is Odinson."

"You're joking." Tony laughed deeply. He looked to the other, silent man standing there for the first time. He was barely shorter than his brother, but the height was where the similarities ended. Loki was lanky, pale, dark-haired, and green-eyed. Everything about him seemed to contradict his brother. It was oddly fitting for their namesakes. Tony had to admit that this man was much more his type than Thor was. But he quickly shook that though. That was an off thought to have when you're a guest. He stuck his hand out to shake Loki's. "Pleasure to meet you, God of Mischief."

Loki stared down at the hand he was offered and snorted despite himself. He took it and said, "No, the pleasure is all mine." He hadn't meant for it to come out in such a flirtatious tone, but it definitely did. "Our father is somewhat of a nut for Norse myth," he explained offhandedly. "Might have something to do with his given name."

Tony laughed. "Let me guess. His name is Odin Borison, and you're adopted," Tony joked.

There was a beat of awkward silence. Jane coughed. "Actually."

Another beat. "Oh, well. This is sufficiently awkward. A lesser man might have blushed. Tony laughed it off, rubbing the back of his neck. "What's for dinner?"

"That's a good question." Jane looked up at Thor. "What do we have in the kitchen, Honey?"

Thor looked slightly startled at being asked a question. "We have Poptarts," he answered, grinning. Jane smacked him on his arm. He faked a wince, cowering from her glare. "Alright, we have a chicken in the refrigerator and broccoli in the freezer. Is that good?"

"It's a start," she harrumphed, pretending to be mad at him. "Come on, let's go see what we can whip up." She led Thor away, looking knowingly at Loki and Tony as she left them to stand there and do God knows what.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her expression, but didn't question it out loud, turning back to the man in front of him. "So Loki, what is it you do for a living?"

Loki snorted again. Such a normal question, he thought. Not one suited for Tony Stark. "I'm currently unemployed," he said smoothly. "I usually travel the world as a translator for a private airline, but I was recently laid off in favor of technology." He stared meaningfully at Tony as he said this last part, for it was one of Tony's little side projects that actually created the program that replaced him. "I've been considering entering into business, however."

"Oops, was that one of mine? Well, not going to apologize for progress." He gave him the biggest shit-eating grin he could. "But you're a translator, that's interesting. How many languages do you speak?"

"At the moment, seven." If he hadn't had to fill out so many resumes lately, he would have had to stop and think. "But Greek and Latin hardly count, and Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are all basically the same, so two living languages, a language family and two dead languages, I suppose. English is actually my second-slash-fourth, as well as Thor's. I apologize in advance for his English abilities. More than a decade here and he still hasn't caught on completely."

"Well, you speak it very well." Tony laughed. "And that's rather impressive. Trust me; businesses are always looking for a guy who can jabber on in a few languages. Tech will never replace a guy who can make deals with foreign partners in their native tongue. What's the other language you speak?"

Loki smiled slightly at the compliment. "Spanish. Very dull language, but fun all the same as it is about as far as you can get from Swedish while still staying in Europe."

Tony laughed. "That's great. Actually, that's a good set. I can't say much for the others, but the technology industry definitely relies heavily on Scandinavia and Mexico. I might just have to hire you myself before my competitors snatch you up." He winked.

Loki raised an eyebrow. He was starting to like this man. "I'll keep that in mind." He glances at the kitchen, from which an argument about the best way to cook a chicken could be heard, and sighed through his nose. "I'm going to have to go break that up in a little while, or we will never eat."

Tony rolled his eyes, listening to the argument. The two sounded like they were married. "Hey, Foster!" He called, leaning around Loki to be seen. The arguing stopped abruptly. Jane spun around in the direction of the voice. "Quit bickering with your boyfriend, we're starving out here. Rub a little Old Bay and lemon juice on it, and pop it in the oven at 450. Time it twenty minutes, then turn it down to 400 for about forty." He leaned back into a normal standing position, grinning widely at Loki. "Problem solved."

Loki couldn't help it. His emotionless facade broke, and he cracked an amused smile. Definitely liking this guy. "I see you have some experience with arguing couples as well," he chuckled. "Not many can break through to those two once they're started. It's an absolute nightmare living with them." He made a face. "Which is why I don't anymore."

Tony's grin got wider at Loki's. "Couples, no. Co-CEOs and directors that bicker endlessly like couples over how to best monopolize my time, yes." He rolled his eyes. "So if you don't live with these lovebirds, where do you stay?"

Loki had to pause for a moment to imagine the scenario Tony described. From what he knew of these people, it sounded downright hilarious to stand in the same room as them while they argued over Tony's life. He stifled what would probably an undignified giggle and responded to his question. "Oh, just an apartment downtown. It's not all that interesting.

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Thor slinging an arm around Loki's shoulders and laughing his booming laugh. "Brother, what are you still doing standing here in the doorway?" He grinned at Tony. "Since my brother here is being exceptionally rude, can I offer you a drink, Mr. Stark?"

"It's Tony." Tony's real grin melted into the one he used at formal business meetings and in bars. "And I'm sure my reputation precedes me, but I will never say no to an alcoholic beverage." He followed silently as Thor walked into the living room, dragging his brother along against his will.

Loki snuck a glance at Tony as he was manhandled into walking towards the couches. He noticed that his smile had shifted, looking less genuine and more a 'I've-been-here-done-this-a-thousand-times' look instead. He found himself missing the actual smile and wondering why, exactly, he would. He shrugged it off. "Thor, you are no good at mixing drinks," he says to his brother who had been taking down bottles of from the shelves. "You'd probably poison the man, what with all the alcohol you put in those things." He takes the ingredients from Thor's hands. "What do you want, Stark?"

Tony laughed, watching the brothers interact as he took a seat in an armchair. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, I can hold my liquor." He shrugged at Loki's question. "Surprise me." He winked, turning to Thor, who had plopped himself down on the couch. "So Thor, Jane tells me you're an electrician?"

Thor nodded eagerly. "Yes. It is grueling work and the hours are long, but it puts meat on the table, yes?"

Jane walked up behind him. "No, that would be SHIELD's paycheck to me that puts meat on the table." She sat down next to him, kissing his cheek. "Loki, if you're mixing, I'll have a Smith and Wesson."

Loki nodded at her from the kitchen counter. "Already planning on it, Jane, dear."

Thor got Jane's attention back by putting his hands on her shoulders. "No, we agreed on this, remember? You pay the house bills, and I pay for the groceries."

Jane rolled her eyes, but smiled warmly. "Oh yes, how could I forget? I'm sorry, love." She kissed his chastely.

Tony's business smile was still glued to his face. "Well, aren't you two just sickeningly sweet? How long have you been together?"

"Six months." Jane answered without hesitation. "But enough about me, Tony. I feel like I talk about me all day at work. What about you? Do you have anyone in your life at the moment?" There was a devious glint in her eyes.

"Not anything long-term." Tony raised his eyebrows questioningly at her expression again. "Well, there's Pepper. But that's kind of an on-again-off-again, act-like-we're-married-but-it's-an-open-relationship relationship that really hardly counts. Oh, thank you." Loki handed him a glass filled with ice and an odd burnt orange drink. For some reason, he didn't mind being handed a drink by Loki. He was pretty sure it had more to do with the alcohol than the person, though.

Jane started laughing at the sight of the drink, taking her own brown drink from Loki and immediately sipping it. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you, Tony."

Loki rolled his eyes. He handed Thor what appeared to be a variation on a screwdriver. He sat down in an armchair next to Tony's. "I don't know what you have against my drink, Jane."

"Maybe the fact that you served me one without telling me what's in it?" Jane laughed. "He calls it The Trickster."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I'll try anything once." He took a sip, and almost immediately started coughing. Jane and Thor laughed, and Loki grinned wickedly. Tony made a face, licking his lips. "Little heavy on the cinnamon there."

Loki smirked. "It wasn't designed for you." He sips at his own drink and makes a happy noise. "Perfectly blended, like always."

Tony took another sip. Now that he knew what to expect, the combination of the cinnamon, tequila, and orange juice wasn't nearly as bad. A little spicy, but not bad. "Actually, it's not bad. Heavy on the tequila as well, but I actually like that."

Jane laughed. "You obviously like tequila, then. I don't."

Tony smirked. "It's 'cause you've never had real tequila. Cuevo's basically half moonshine, half cactus juice, and a little caramel color. I'll have to bring you a bottle of the real stuff sometime."

Jane looked at him skeptically. "You can recognize the brand from just the taste? Under all that cinnamon?"

Tony laughed. "It's a talent. Could do the same with whiskey. Scotch is more difficult, but I can definitely tell you if it's not my brand."

"Talent, my ass," Loki muttered snidely. "More like you drink way too much. I doubt that 'talent' comes from staring at bottles all day." He takes another drink, and Thor frowns at him. He shoots him a questioning glare back. Thor keeps whatever's bothering him quiet, though, for the sake of their guest.

Tony grins at Loki. "Let's just saw the folks down at Jack Daniel's may or may not know me personally." He winked, taking another sip. Jane is staring at them, attempting to hide a smirk in her drink. Tony turned to her. "Jane Foster, you have been looking at me funny all night."

Jane looks half taken aback and half tickled pink that he noticed. "Oh, I have? Sorry. Didn't notice."

Tony playfully glared. "What're you plotting?" If he didn't know better, he would say Jane was trying to set him up with Loki. But that was ridiculous. Loki probably wasn't into guys. And the only people who knew that he brought the occasional man home in the slew of women was Pepper and the men themselves.

"Me? Oh, I'm not plotting anything. What makes you think that?" Loki narrowed his eyes at her as well. He could swear Jane was still smirking behind that glass of hers. She was trying to do something, he could tell, and he had a good idea of what. 'You're not fooling anyone,' he said to her in his mind, rolling his eyes pointedly to express his thoughts. It's not like it mattered; everybody knew that Tony Stark, though promiscuous, only liked the ladies. There was no way Loki was even a blip on his sexual radar.

Jane shot Loki a look right back, a confident smirk that said, 'Try me.'

Tony drained his drink. "Right." He could already feel the buzz of alcohol in the back of his head. If all informal dinner parties were like this, he could learn to like them.

About an hour later, they were all gathered around the dinner table, all hovering between buzzed and drunk, with plates of chicken and broccoli. Tony had coated his in salt and pepper, but that was okay because Thor had drowned his in hot sauce. Jane leaned on her elbow and pointed her fork at Loki. "So what about your love life, Loki? You have anyone?"

Loki glanced up from the chicken he was cutting. "You know I don't, Jane," He muttered darkly. "Darcy is your best friend. I'm sure she told you all about how tragic our breakup was."

"Yeah, real tragic. That's why you broke up by text message." Jane rolled her eyes. "She's already moved on to other guys. I though you might've too."

Tony raised an amused eyebrow, swallowing the bit he was chewing. "You got dumped by text? That is tragic." He didn't miss Jane's insinuation, but figured it was just a drunk slip of the tongue.

"She drunk texted me at 2 am saying that I should probably see other people because she was." Loki snorted. "Things weren't great between us at the best of times. It was less of a romantic relationship and more of a 'we can actually stand being in the room together for more than five seconds' relationship." He took a bite of chicken, ignoring Thor's hearty guffaws at his deadpanned joke. "And no, I haven't been seeing anyone recently."

Thor drowned his laughter with a swallow from his drink. "I would say you two made it well past the five second mark, based on the noises coming from your bedroom back when the two of you still lived with us."

Tony grinned widely. Okay, he liked the big guy now that he was drunk. Jane choked on a piece of broccoli and was sent into a coughing-slash-laughing fit. She slapped Thor's arm. "You can't say stuff like that without warning me!"

Thor laughed more softly and kissed her. "I apologize."

Loki resisted smacking Thor in the face for that one. They had a guest. Instead he sipped his drink and replied haughtily, "I don't think you should be the one to make those jokes, Thor, seeing as you are significantly louder. I honestly could not sleep some nights." Jane giggled, and Loki looked at her sharply. "Don't think I didn't include you in that, Jane, dear." He smirked.

Jane waved it off the comment and the look, taking a sip from her drink. "If I remember correctly, you and Darcy had a few points on the scoreboard she taped to the fridge."

"Yeah, from the week you spent at SHIELD headquarters." Loki rolled his eyes. "I told her it was cheating. She said that you guys could always have phone sex if you wanted the point."

Jane coughed. Thor's face was bright red from a combination of the alcohol, laughing too hard, and the subject matter.

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, I can see this household has a significant condom budget."

Loki couldn't hold back his laugh this time. Tony grinned widely, the sound of it making him feel strangely warm. He supposed it was a feeling of accomplishment for successfully breaking through the man's deadpan mask. That would explain his sudden drunken desire to make Loki laugh as much as possible. It was very nice laugh, and was practically the polar opposite of Thor's deep guffaw.

Loki's glass was completely drained, and he could feel the buzz of alcohol in the back of his brain. "I suppose you could say that." He turned to face Tony directly. "Although I highly doubt that yours is much better, Mr. Playboy." He grinned as he said those last words. Thor laughed loudly despite the fact that there was no joke. Loki glanced at him disparagingly.

Tony scoffed. "Billionaire. Hardly counts. And half the people I bring home bring their own, so." He drained his drink. He was going to feel that cheap tequila in the morning, but he really didn't care at the moment.

"People?" Jane questioned, slightly too excited to be unsuspicious. She covered her mouth, giggling. "Oops, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "What else would I bring home from bars, cats?"

Loki laughed, smirking. "Allow me to translate Drunk Jane. She's questioning your word choice. Did you mean women?"

"Well, I generally count women as people, yes." Tony took a sip from his previously untouched glass of water. He stared at Jane for a moment, grappling in his mind whether he should make his next comment. They were all drunk. And it wasn't as if he had actually been publically denying it. The media just assumed he was straight, for some odd reason. "But an orgasm's an orgasm, no matter the gender or genitals of the person giving it to you." He winked, and took another drink of water. God, he was wasted.

Loki snorted. "Agreed," he conceded and took a mouthful of his water also. It felt like he hadn't had a proper liquid in hours, which was technically true, considering tequila and cinnamon weren't particularly hydrating. He wanted to punch his mental self in the face. Tony Stark had just admitted that he wasn't straight and he was thinking about the dehydrating effects of alcohol?

Jane had the biggest grin on her face. "Thought so."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her. "Thought what?"

"That you swing both ways." She broke down into a fit of giggles by the end of that sentence. Eventually, she got her composure back. "Darcy claims I have the most sensitive gaydar this side of California. Also you can into the lab smelling of another man's cologne last week."

"I can't own more than one cologne?"

Jane raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you own more than one cologne?"

"Maybe." Tony stared at her seriously for a moment longer, before grinning. "Okay, point taken. I am flattered to have been the experiment to confirm your extrasensory abilities, Miss Foster." He really didn't care. He was keeping up the snark out of habit. He was much more interested in the man who was sitting next to him. Loki had just become approximately ten times more interesting now that they were both out in the open; which was saying something, considering he had found Loki to be interesting in the first place.

Loki watched Jane and Tony's exchange, hiding his own shock at the news that through all of Tony Stark's womanizing, he engaged in a bit of manizing as well. Loki fought the urge to laugh at that word: manizing. Ridiculous. He must be really drunk. But regardless of his own spontaneous word creation, Tony's comment had sent him through a bit of a loop. Loki had very defined categorizations for people, and it seemed Stark was meticulously destroying each one.

Eventually he got his mental processes back into some semblance of order. He grinned at Jane. "I suppose it was obvious to you when you first met me, then."

"Oh, I already knew by the time I first met you," Jane giggled, glancing at Thor.

Thor had grown uncharacteristically silent through the whole exchange. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on him, and he stuttered, "Do not look at me! I was merely telling her of my family!" Loki still directed a glare his way, mostly out of pure habit.

"And then there's the fact that you told Darcy," Jane continued. She rolled her eyes, taking another bite of the chicken that had been neglected. "There's not a thought that passes through that girl's head that I don't end of knowing about."

Tony snorted. "You told your girlfriend, who you were apparently only into for the sex, that you're also into guys? Sounds kinky."

Loki just shrugged and ate a piece of broccoli, hiding his amusement. "She was curious. Darcy doesn't have bad gaydar herself. Nothing came of it. And certainly nothing passing through your corrupted mind, Stark." Well, there was that one time with the disco and the butter. But that wasn't something that you mention at the dinner table.

Tony laughed. "Well, that's really too bad. World of unexplored potential, that is. Especially by the sound of Darcy." He winked.

Thor stood very suddenly. "Well, I have a shift tomorrow, so I had probably better go off to bed. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark." He clapped Tony's shoulder, and then walked off.

Jane stood as well, sighing. "I'll go make sure that he actually makes it to the bedroom." She rolled her eyes, picking up her and Thor's plates and glasses. "Tony, you shouldn't drive. You can crash here tonight." She walked the few feet to the kitchen to put the dishes in the sink.

Tony scoffed. "I've driven worse."

Jane raised an eyebrow. "And that scares me. Stay. You can stay in the guest room. Or whatever." She clapped a hand over her mouth again. She just as quickly brought it back down to her side, smiling innocently. "Okay, goodnight!" She half ran up the stairs, following Thor.

This left Loki to sit at the table awkwardly with a very attractive and also probably-pansexual man. He looked at Tony and honestly couldn't stop himself anymore. He broke down laughing.

Tony grinned widely. That warm feeling that Loki's laugh gave him returned. "And what exactly is so funny?"

Loki's laugh shrunk to giggles. "Please tell me that you're joking. Thor picked up on what was going on. If you didn't, I may have just lost all respect for you."

Tony laughed. "So I'm not reading too much into the situation in thinking that Jane inviting me here at the same time that you were over wasn't a happy accident?"

"Oh, I'm entirely certain that she's trying to set us up." Loki stood, taking his glass. "Another drink? We're out of orange juice, but I can fix something else."

"Scotch and soda, if you've got it." Tony took a drink of water. This night was getting better and better with every passing moment.

Tony collected their plates as Loki went to mix more drinks. Before things got awkward, Tony decided he had better strike up conversation again. "So what's with your brother, anyway? Totally hunky-dory with talking about your sex life, but one mention of The Gay and he's suddenly dead silent?"

Loki's smile dropped. He snorted disgustedly, burying his face in the cabinets looking for ingredients. "Thor is... ah… a bit old fashioned in his views," he said with no small amount to contempt. "He still thinks women need to be protected by men. He actually disliked Jane taking the job for SHIELD at first, until she basically banished him to the couch for being stupid." He turned around. "No scotch, sorry. We've got three different flavors of unopened vodka for some reason, though."

"Screw mixed drinks then, we're got a party right there." Tony snorted. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch. Loki soon followed, bottles of vodka in one hand and two short glasses in the other. "Anyway, yeah. I kind of picked up on Thor's attitude when Jane mentioned her paycheck earlier. Sorry 'bout that. But you know what they say."

Loki put the bottle down as he finished filling the glasses with the strawberry vodka. "What?"

Tony picked up his glass, holding it out to toast. "You can pick your lovers, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family."

Loki huffed a laugh. He clinked glasses with Tony. They each took a mouthful, very aware that the other was watching. "I suppose you would know." He had read about Tony's father when Jane announced she would be working with Tony.

Tony shrugged. "Well, my dad found me out when I was like, sixteen, I think? First break back from college, and he finds me naked in bed with some guy. He flipped. I never did find out if it was the sex, the guy, or the fact that I stole his bottle of bourbon that he was upset about." He laughed. "It's not like he talked to me much before, but he kind of backed off even further after that. I think I talked to him maybe twice more between then and the accident." Tony took a large swallow from his glass. "My mom was pretty cool about the whole thing, though."

"I don't see why he would care about the sex. Legend has it he was quite the playboy himself." Loki smirked.

Tony rolled his eyes, sighing. "It's true. Don't remind me." Tony stared at his glass for a moment before draining it. He really didn't want to think about the memories that were pressing their way to the surface. He looked at the bottles on the table for the first time. He grinned. "Watermelon vodka? I have to try this." He opened it and was about to pour, when he decided against it, leaning back and taking a sip right from the bottle. "Hm. That's actually pretty good."

Loki snorted and laughed at him. He took the bottle and took a sip himself. "You're right. Not bad. I prefer the vanilla, though." He handed the bottle of watermelon off to Tony, and opened the vanilla vodka, taking a sip of it and grinning. "And if you make that joke, I may have to slap you, Stark."

"What joke? I said nothing. You thought it, not me." Tony grinned and took a gulp from the bottle. "So I poured out my heart for you, your turn. What's your story?"

Loki laughed, sipping at the bottle. "My mother was fine with it, and my father…well, he wasn't surprised. There were more pressing matters at the moment I tried to tell him, though."

Tony snorted. "You guys did the 'Dad, I'm gay' and 'Son, you're adopted' thing in one go? Sounds like a fun time."

"It was more like, 'Pappa, my blood type is genetically impossible.', 'I know.', 'Well fuck you, I'm into dudes.'" Loki imitated the conversation with a deep voice for his father. Tony laughed. Loki smiled slightly, then sighed through his nose. "It resulted in a rather large falling out that lasted a good year or so."

Tony nodded. "Define falling out."

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "Define playboy, in relationship to Howard Stark."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "We're playing that game then? Okay." He turned and brought his feet up, sitting half cross-legged. "Me at seven years old. I went down to my dad's lab looking for him. Found a pair of earrings on his worktable. Not thinking anything of it, I grabbed them and ran up to give them to my mom." Tony's voice cracked slightly.

"Not hers?"

"First time I ever saw her cry." He took a deep drink from the bottle. "Me and my mom went on a 'vacation' for a few days. Being the smart kid I was, I asked if it had something to do with the earrings. Second time I saw her cry." He cleared his throat. "Your turn."

Loki sighed. "It's a really long story, Tony."

Tony put his arms out. "We have all night."

Loki took a drink from his bottle, and began. "I ran away. Stole perhaps two hundred bucks, caught a Greyhound, and got out x amount of stops later. I think I ended up somewhere in California."

"Woah, woah, wait." Tony stopped him. "I need more context. How old were you and what year was this?"

Loki rubbed the back of his head. "Hm. Was just about to finish my junior year when I bolted, so seventeen and '98."

Tony snapped his fingers. "Dammit. I'm older."

Loki laughed. "You were already on the cover of Forbes magazine when I was thirteen, Stark."

Tony snorted. "Shut up." He quickly did the math in his head. "Oh Lord, you're talking about the cover with Obadiah when I took over the company. I didn't even have a beard back then." He rubbed a hand over his beard, as if trying to assure himself it was still there. Loki was practically giggling. Tony rolled his eyes. "Quit making me feel old. Continue with your story."

Loki's smile faded again, but not as much. He was enjoying talking to Tony, at least. "I stayed in motels for a while, but eventually the money ran out. Stayed in homeless shelters after that. Was a runner for a coke dealer once I turned eighteen." He paused to see how that went over. Tony didn't react other than taking a drink and motioning for him to continue.

"Didn't actually do drugs for a long time, but eventually I shot up and other things. There was a lot of mixing. Pretty sure I was raped a few times. After the drugs started it's kind of a blur, but I highly doubt the men I was with would've let a twink like me go to waste." He took a deep drink, sighing through his nose.

"Were you a virgin?" Tony broke the silence. "Sorry. I'm just curious."

"No, it's okay." Loki smiled weakly at him. "For what matters, yes. My ass was virginal."

Tony tried to give him a sympathetic smile. "Bet that hurt like a bitch."

Loki laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Worst part is, I don't remember. I'm still very surprised I didn't catch HIV or something. God." He shook his head. Tony nodded. The question had actually been running through his head. "I woke up on Christmas '99, and suddenly decided I wanted to go home. Spent a few weeks gradually stealing money, and I flew home just in time to ring in the new millennium. Literally, I showed up back on my parent's doorstep on New Year's Eve, shaking with withdrawal and probably smelling like garbage. As my luck would have it, my parents were not at home."

Tony snorted loudly. Loki smiled, and continued. "I think they were at a party or something. Ended up passing out, and apparently Thor found me the next morning and rushed me to the hospital."

They were silent for a long time, both nursing their bottles of vodka. Tony grinned at him. "So, I think we can come to an agreement that our lives suck?"

Loki grinned at him, holding his bottle up. "I'll drink to that." Tony clinked bottles with him, and they both drank.

Loki suddenly broke down laughing. He covered his face with is hands, and just laughed.

Tony grinned at him. His drunk mind was thinking things such as the fact that he could listen to that laugh for the rest of his life and never tire of it. "What?"

"Oh, just thinking about what'll happen when Jane hears that we spent the night drinking flavored vodka and pouring out our hearts like girls." Loki snickered, taking another sip from his bottle. He set it on the table. He knew his limits, and he had reached it.

"We don't have to tell her, you know." Tony winked.

Loki hummed thoughtfully. "She'll find out somehow. Jane has her ways." He shrugged. "But that doesn't mean she'll find out the details." He smirked rather suggestively.

"Oh yes, but details are rather hard to cover up without more details to cover them." Tony smirked. "But you would know that, as the God of Lies and Mischief."

Loki rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, I suppose I would." He leans slightly closer. "So what details should we fabricate to cover our heartfelt confessions?"

Tony set his now half-empty bottle of vodka on the table. "I was thinking less fabricate and more…create." Tony shook his head. God, he was really drunk.

"Hmm?" Loki raised his eyebrow in mock interest. "And what might we create that would distract Miss Foster from our more unmanly adventures?" He shifted ever closer to the man next to him as he said this.

"I can think of a few things," Tony muttered. His eyes, glazed with drink, twinkled with mischief. He wasn't much in the mood for playing games, but he would play them for as long as Loki would. He watched the man, chewing lightly on the inside of his lip at his eyes dashed from his lips to his impossibly green eyes.

Those green eyes darkened as Loki watched Tony as well. "Shut up and kiss me, Stark."

Tony took the order. He leaned the rest of the way forward, grabbing Loki's chin as his tilted his head and pressed their lips together.

Loki's mind buzzed. Or he was vaguely aware that it should be buzzing, but he was too drunk to react appropriately. Instead he let physical sensation take over. It might just be because he was drunk or because he hadn't kissed a man that he was actually really attracted to in years, but damn was Tony a good kisser.

He grabbed onto the collar of that stupid dress shirt he had been wearing all night, pulling him closer. As they were both really drunk and unbalanced, it ended up pulling him all the way down until Loki was laying down on the couch with the shorter man on top of him, but Loki didn't mind. Actually, he moaned as Tony accidentally moved against his crotch, trying to get comfortable. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he questioned what the circular object pressed into his chest was. Far, far in the back of his mind.

Tony smirked and moved his efforts down to Loki's neck, trying to find the sensitive spots that would make Loki make more of those gorgeous noises. He found one on Loki's pulse point near the base of his neck. Loki groaned, a shiver of pleasure running down his spine as Tony bit, sucked, and lathed at the spot as he occasionally gave a roll of his hips.

Loki's head lolled back, his mouth hanging open as he panted.

trailed his fingernails up and down Tony's back, grinning widely when a shiver was produced. Loki pulled Tony back up to kiss him. The spot on his neck still tingled, and he was certain that Tony had left behind a hickey. Loki quickly and easily flipped them over, pinning Tony to the couch with his knees on either side of his hips

Tony grinned. "Feisty. I like it."

"Shut up, Stark." Loki captured Tony's lips and tongue in a kiss again, preventing him from making any further comments. Tony hummed in approval and pleasure. Though he usually preferred to be on top, he did enjoy the freedom it gave his hands. And legs. Loki's soft, worn t-shirt was quickly discarded. Tony wrapped his legs around Loki's hips and pulled himself up, grinding vulgarly. Loki groaned. "Oh, fuck, Tony."

Suddenly, there was a large crash from the kitchen. Loki shot up. His hair was a mess and the hicky on his neck now stood out brightly against his skin. He glared darkly when he spotted Thor on the ground, tangled in the chair that he had tripped over.

"O-Oh my god." That was all Thor managed to get out. Loki silently disentangled himself from Tony, picked up his shirt, and went upstairs. His expression was nothing but pure malice.

Thor stood, his face beet red, and put a hand to his forehead. He stared at Tony, who was flushed and panting. "Ah, um."

Tony cleared his throat. "I'll just. Uh. Go, then. Call a taxi." He stood.

Thor nodded. "Yes. That sounds like a good idea."

Tony stumbled towards the door, already typing away at his phone to find a number for a taxi service. "I'll leave my keys my the front door, tell Jane to just drive my car to work later."

"Okay." Thor stared as Tony walked out the front door and shut it. "All I wanted was to get some Poptarts. Why couldn't I just get some Poptarts?" He wanders into the kitchen, mumbling about toastable breakfast pastries.

**This is part one of the Thousand Years series. Much more to come. Will only be uploading fics as they are finished. If you want them piece by piece, or just want more information on the AU period, check out a link to my tumblr and AO3 on my profile.**


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